An MRI revealed a mild forearm strain for the right-hander, not a tear in his UCL which likely would have necessitated Tommy John surgery. Glasnow was placed on the Injured List and will be shut down for 7-10 days. Depending on how he feels then, Glasnow can resume throwing and build back up, with the potential to return to the rotation in four-to-six weeks, or mid-to-late-June. With a spot open on the active roster, INF/OF Andrew Velazquez has been recalled from Triple-A Durham for at least the next five days when Glasnow would have made his next scheduled start.

Losing the right-hander is another blow for a team that already has Mike Zunino, Michael Perez, Matt Duffy and Joey Wendle on the IL. Yet the diagnosis and timetable for a return are positive as arm injuries go.

With the hurler out for at least the next month, Tampa Bay will rely on starters Blake Snell and Charlie Morton and bulk guys Yonny Chirinos and Jalen Beeks to help fill the void unless the team decides to make Chirinos a full-time starter.

There’s also the possibility that the Rays look to in-house options such as Ryan Yarbrough or Jake Faria to help with bullpen depth, or to slot into the starting rotation.

This is where we talk about our depth all the time. Our depth will be challenged and tested, and we have confidence in the guys and the options that we have.

— Kevin Cash

The Rays were able to fortify the catching ranks on Saturday by activating Travis d’Arnaud, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers during Friday’s ballgame.

To make room for D’Arnaud on the 40-man roster, Matt Duffy was placed on the 60-day DL. That means Duffy cannot be activated from the IL until May 27th. The third baseman will resume his rehab Monday with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. The team optioned catcher Nick Ciuffo back to Durham to clear space on the 25-man roster, leaving Anthony Bemboom to make his big league debut at some point in the near future.

The New What Next

Ryne Stanek (0-1, 2.50 ERA) will open for the Rays today and is expected to be followed by bulk inning guy Yonny Chirinos (4-1, 3.52 ERA). They’ll be opposed by C.C. Sabathia (2-1, 3.20 ERA).

Ryne Stanek threw two scoreless frames on Tuesday in a win against the Diamondbacks. The right-hander has thrown scoreless baseball in eight of the nine games he’s opened. The Rays have allowed first-inning runs in each of the last two contests, so hopefully, Stanek can end that skid tonight.

Yonny Chirinos took a hard-luck loss against Baltimore on Saturday, allowing three runs on seven hits across 7-1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one. Chirinos was used as a traditional starter and ended up delivering a quality start for the Rays. The right-hander has pitched well with a 3.52 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 4.14 K/BB over 38-1/3 innings, with most of his damage coming in one outing in which he allowed six runs over 2-1/3 innings (April 12).

CC Sabathia gave up three earned runs on five hits over five innings while striking out five and walking three against the Mariners. The swarthy southpaw wasn’t particularly efficient, needing 99 pitches to make it through five innings, yet he was able to pick up his second victory of the season thanks to a lot of early run support. Sabathia has posted solid ratios over his five 2019 starts, performing to a 3.20 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP across 25-1/3 innings. Sabathia relies primarily on an 89 mph cutter with strong cutting action and an 80 mph sweeping slider, while also mixing in an 89 mph sinker, and a whiffy 83 mph worm-killer changeup. Sabathia is 17-16 with a 3.67 ERA in 48 career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (2-8, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (5-16, 2 HR, 2 RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview, and the starting lineup is below.